Bill Belichick’s Inability To Draft Wide Receivers Should Not Be Overlooked

By now every football fan in the country knows the Patriots struggle with the wide receiver position. Outside of Julian Edelman, (who now appears to be injured or lost a step) Bill Belichick has had more misses than hits at drafting receivers. In fact, since 2002, you could argue that Belichick only drafted three, maybe four wide receivers that had meaningful careers or contributions with the Patriots. The other 13 or 14 wide receivers did not pan out.

Here is a complete breakdown:

•  Deion Branch: 2002 2nd Round Pick: Arguably one of Belichick’s best picks, if not his best pick at WR. Branch won two Super Bowls and was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXIX. He hauled in 11 catches for 133 yards in that game. He held out seeking a new contract during the last season of his rookie deal, forcing New England to trade him to Seattle. In 2012, the Patriots sent the Seahawks a fourth-round pick in exchange for Branch.

•  David Givens: 2002 7th Round Pick: This was a good pick. Givens played for New England from 2002-2005, which includes 8 playoff games, and two Super Bowls. He caught a touchdown pass in Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl XXXIX. In 2006, he signed a five-year, $24 million deal with the Titans. Given’s career was cut short due to knee problems. He only caught nine passes for the Titans. He later would file suit against Tennessee, arguing the Titans gave him poor medical advice and allowed him to play on an injured knee.

•  Bethel Johnson: 2003 2nd Round Pick: Bust. Johnson was not worth a 2nd round pick. In his rookie season, Johnson showed terrific potential as both a kick returner and a deep threat. His best season was his rookie year when he had 209 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns. In 2005, he regressed as a kick returner and failed to make any major contributions on offense. The Patriots traded Johnson to the New Orleans Saints in the offseason. Johnson simply never developed into the every-down receiver the Patriots thought he would.

•  PK Sam: 2004 5th Round Pick: He literally made zero contributions. Sam played in two games his rookie season before becoming a healthy scratch. The Patriots placed him on injured reserve. He did not make the team the following season. In 2018 he faced domestic violence charges.

•  Chad Jackson: 2006 2nd Round Pick: Jackson was a bust. New England gave up a 3rd round pick in a trade with Green Bay to move up 16 spots to draft him. Draft experts thought Jackson was one of the top receivers in the draft, but he never lived up to the hype. He suffered a hamstring injury in the preseason as a rookie. Jackson finished his rookie season with 13 catches, 152 yards, and three touchdowns. Unfortunately for Jackson, he tore his ACL in the AFC Championship game against the Colts. He was never able to recover from that torn ACL.

•  Matthew Slater: 2008 5th Round Pick: Slater put together an impressive career. Let’s be honest though, Slater is not really a wide receiver. He is a three-time Super Bowl Champion and eight-time pro bowler as a special team standout.

•  Brandon Tate: 2009 3rd Round Pick: Bust is a little bit strong. More like disappointing. Tate spent just two seasons in New England. His contributions to the offense were minimal. He was, however, a good special teams player, taking back a couple of kick returns for touchdowns. Tate played for the Bengals from 2011-2015, the Buffalo Bills in 2016 and 2017, and then the New Orleans Saints in 2018. His stats were not off the charts, but credit to Tate for at least being in the league for 10 years.

•  Julian Edelman: 2009 7th Round Pick: Edelman was a home run pick. By now, everyone knows his story. The Patriots drafted Edelman in the 7th round as a quarterback out of Kent State. He won three Super Bowls and helped complete that historic comeback against the Falcons in Super Bowl LI with arguably the greatest catch in Super Bowl history. He also threw that memorable touchdown pass to Danny Amendola against the Ravens in the playoffs in 2015. Edelman caught 105 passes in 2013, 92 passes in 2014, 98 passes in 2016, and 100 passes in 2019.

• Taylor Price: 2010 3rd Round Pick: Bust. Price was a healthy scratch in 15 games of his rookie season in 2010. The Patriots released Price in December of 2011. Price finished his short career with just five receptions for 80 yards. He caught three passes for the Patriots and just two passes in his short stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In 2018, Mike Reiss reported that in that 2010 draft, New England wanted to draft Eric Decker, but instead settled for Taylor Price.

•  Jeremy Ebert: 2012 7th Round Pick: Ebert never made the team. In fact, he shuffled across the NFL from the practice squad to practice squad.

•  Aaron Dobson: 2013 2nd Round Pick: Dobson somehow stayed on the Patriots roster for three seasons. It seemed like week after week Dobson was on the injury report with a foot injury. Dobson dropped nine passes during his rookie season. The highlight of his career was a 5 catch, 130 yard game against the Steelers. Dobson is evidently still upset with how his career turned out because he sent out a series of tweets right before the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft in which he ripped the Patriots media, the fans, and he defended himself, and his playing abilities.

•  Josh Boyce: 2013 4th Round Pick: Bust. He played in nine games and made three starts as a rookie in 2013, catching nine passes for 121 yards. He also returned nine kicks for 214 yards that season. The Patriots released Boyce at the end of training camp in his second season. He was signed to the practice squad. He joined the 53-man roster on Dec. 27 and played in the regular-season finale against Buffalo but did not see any time in the postseason. In 2016, the Cleveland Browns signed Boyce but then cut him a week later.

•  Jeremy Gallon: 2014 7th Round Pick: He never made the team or even the practice squad. He tried outs with the Dolphins, Colts, and Packers but couldn’t make any of their practice squads. He ended up playing in the CFL and AFL.

•  Malcolm Mitchell: 2016 4th Round Pick: This was a good pick. The Georgia product had an impressive rookie year hauling in 32 receptions for 401 yards and four touchdowns. He does have a Super Bowl ring, in fact, he was excellent in Super Bowl LI. He made some key catches and finished that game with six catches for 70 yards. Unfortunately for Mitchell, knee injuries led to 10 surgeries on his knee and forced him to retire at just 26 years old.

•  Devin Lucien: 2016 7th Round Pick: He spent his rookie season on the Patriots’ practice squad. In 2017, Lucien was unable to make the Patriots deep depth chart or the team’s practice squad. He had practice squad stints with the Colts, Chiefs, Texans, and Bucs but was unable to stick with a team. New England gave Lucien a training camp invite in 2018 but once again cut him before the regular season started.

• Braxton Berrios: 2018 6th Round Pick: Berrios was a Patriots bust but he’s still in the league. He spent the 2018 season on injured reserve. The Patriots cut Berrios in 2019 and the Jets quickly picked him up. Right now in the 2020 season, Berros is getting playing time with the Jets. He has two touchdown receptions and is averaging three targets a game.

• N’Keal Harry: 2019 1st Round Pick: All signs suggest that Harry is another bust. The problem with Harry is that he is a first-round pick, but his production is not on par with his draft selection. At least nine other receivers are having much better seasons than Harry. Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown, Mecole Hardman, Andy Isabella, DK Metcalf,  Diontae Johnson, Terry McLaurin, Hunter Renfrow, and Darius Slayton were all drafted after Harry. To make matters worse for Harry, Bill Belichick and the Patriots were excited to take Harry at #32 because they thought Harry would go much higher in the draft. So far in 2020, Harry is struggling to produce and starting to take some heat from the media and fan base.

Belichick will go down as the greatest coach of all time. He helped build a dynasty in New England that we may never see again. However, Belichick the general manager does have some flaws, such as drafting and developing receivers.

 

-Kevin Tame, Jr. is a Staff Writer for Full Press Coverage and covers the New England Patriots. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Tame